'Hitler' store outrages Indian community

[Deleted]

Sigh...

news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8524148/hitler-store-outrages-indian-community

A clothing store in India named "Hitler" has provoked the ire of members of the local community.

Shop owner Rajesh Shah said he did not know the extent of the German dictator's crimes and decided to call the store Hitler because it was the nickname of his business partner's grandfather.

"Until the time we applied for the trademark permission, I had only heard that Hitler was a strict man," Mr Shah said.

"It was only recently that we read about Hitler on the internet."

The store opened 10 days ago and has outraged residents and the small Jewish community in Ahmedabad, north of Mumbai.

The community has urged the shop owners to change the name of the store, which also features a swastika in its signage.

Mr Shah said they could only change the name if they were compensated for the sign because they have run out of money.

[twotrue]

There's a swastika in your sign but you really don't know who Hitler was?? I'm not buying it.

[dylanite]

Well he was pretty strict.

[summer]

There were tons of people in my language class who came from other countries and lived here for years who had NO idea what the Holocaust was about. They were like, "what's a concentration camp?"

[summer]

It's not something every country learns or talks about, as unbelieveable as that sounds to us.

[mx27]

Aug 29, 2012 9:01:25 GMT -5 summer said:

There were tons of people in my language class who came from other countries and lived here for years who had NO idea what the Holocaust was about. They were like, "what's a concentration camp?"

and we (US Americans) are the clueless ones? hmm...

[gardengal]

Aug 29, 2012 9:41:15 GMT -5 mx27 said:

Aug 29, 2012 9:01:25 GMT -5 summer said:

There were tons of people in my language class who came from other countries and lived here for years who had NO idea what the Holocaust was about. They were like, "what's a concentration camp?"

and we (US Americans) are the clueless ones? hmm...

I'm pretty sure the average American couldn't give you much info on genocide in Africa or the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

[alleinesein]

Aug 29, 2012 8:42:21 GMT -5 twotrue said:

There's a swastika in your sign but you really don't know who Hitler was?? I'm not buying it.

There are swastikas ALL OVER the place in Mumbai and there are even stores called "Swastik". Hitler bastardized a peaceful symbol; over here it is not associated with the Nazi party and Hitler.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika (way too many links to put in here)

[ttt]

Aug 29, 2012 1:29:41 GMT -5 @maggie78 said:

Shop owner Rajesh Shah said he did not know the extent of the German dictator's crimes and decided to call the store Hitler because it was the nickname of his business partner's grandfather.

He must have been a real sweetheart.

[mx27]

Aug 29, 2012 9:46:23 GMT -5 gardengal said:

Aug 29, 2012 9:41:15 GMT -5 mx27 said:

and we (US Americans) are the clueless ones? hmm...

I'm pretty sure the average American couldn't give you much info on genocide in Africa or the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

and i'm pretty sure the average person couldn't give you much info on genocide in Africa or the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

[Deleted]

He knows who Hitler is, I think he's just claiming he doesn't cause if he does he will get even more flack. I also think the named his business this for the press it would recieve.

[summer]

Lots of people honestly don't know about it. Foreigners live in Germany for years and don't know. I was shocked as well, but it's not something every country teaches in school.

[starlily]

India was in the midst of its own independence movement from British rule during that time. The focus of history classes studying that era, for those that actually were/are able to go to high school, might have been something different than what we'd expect. And like a pp mentioned, the.swastika was a Sanskrit symbol first.

This guy was dumb and probably knew better (since he has the money to open a business), but I could see how people in some nations might not have the same educational opportunities/curriculum. Heck, my own mom had to beg my grandfather to let her go to high school in the 1950s in India. He thought it was a waste for women to learn & the boys didn't really need to since they'd inherit the farmland. I'm willing to bet that mindset still applies in a lot of areas. And my mom grew up in an area with high literacy rates.

[Deleted]

Aug 29, 2012 23:12:59 GMT -5 nuggetbrain said:

Aug 29, 2012 9:46:23 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I'm pretty sure the average American couldn't give you much info on genocide in Africa or the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

....yeah, but the worldwide genocide of Jews and "undesireables" by the millions during a world war? Like, that's really something other people don't know about? It happened in pretty much every country in Europe for crying out loud.

Right, but big chunks of the world were struggling with their own internal influences and if the education isn't there then how were they going to know. And the whole people not knowing about recent genocide really gets me, it happened in our lifetime, who hasn't met a Cambodian or a Bosnian or someone who can tell you about living through another horrible part of recent history, but there are people that haven't.